Friends

I am so grateful for wonderful friends!  I have been amazed lately at how blessed I am!  I know without a doubt that people are placed in our lives at exactly the right moment, and I also know that sometimes they are pulled out of our lives at exactly the right moment [even if it seems miserable and hard].  But either way, we have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who have their hands in our lives.

I have been blessed with many friends who have blessed my life at various times, but I am going to share about a few friends who are acting as major blessings right now ~ I wish I had pictures to share of all of them, but words will have to do for now!

Ali McRae is a wonderful, sweet friend who I met through the singles ward.  Ali worked with Chelsea last summer, and I kept hearing all about how wonderful she is.  A few months later, Ali moved into the ward, and I was blessed to develop a friendship with her.  Ali and I then had the opportunity to serve together in the Relief Society Presidency.  Ali has been such a great example of perseverance and love.  She has invited me to her house on many nights to talk and laugh and cry.  I am so grateful for her listening ear and loving heart!

Haleigh Holt is an angel friend who has been in my life through think and thin.  I grew up in the same ward as Haleigh, but we became especially close in my senior year of high school as I was struggling to find my place among friends.  Haleigh and Whitney were my "go to girls"  when I needed a fun night out!  Haleigh recently returned home from her mission and I have loved the times we have spent talking and sharing our testimonies in the last few months.  She has taught me so much through her quiet strength and love.

Holly Migel is an amazing friend who I met in middle school.  We played sports together in high school and have continued to develop our friendship ever since.  Holly is a great listener, and she knows just when we need to get out and find ourselves an adventure!  I went to visit Holly last week in Idaho Falls and after spending several hours talking, she informed me that she purchased a Harley Davidson!  I seriously couldn't stop laughing!  So we took an awesome ride on her Harley!  It was a blast!

We decided we hadn't had enough adventure, so yesterday we spent the day enjoying warm weather and dizzy heads at Lagoon!   It was the best day to go because we didn't stand in lines for longer than 5-10 minutes.  It was great, until we decided to go on the Samurai twice back-to-back!  Then we had to do some bench sitting while my stomach returned to its normal self!  We spent a few hours relaxing in the lazy river, and then came home!  I know that my Heavenly Father knew from the moment Holly and I met that we would be in the same situation in our lives right now and would need each other to skip, crawl, run, and drag each other through it!

I also wouldn't be where I am without two amazing friends who I met at BYU-Idaho...Ashley Storey and Amanda Jeffrey.  They don't live in Idaho, so visits are seldom but I know that these two will answer every text message and phone call I make.  And I am amazed at how they always say exactly what I need to hear.  I was able to visit Ashley on my way home from Bakersfield this spring, and I will be visiting Amanda for a few days in July; I am so grateful for these two!   They had and still have a great impact in shaping me into who I am today!

I would be missing the greatest friends in my life if I left out my parents and siblings.  I have been blessed with an amazing family!  I have wonderful sisters and an amazing sister-in-law!    They are really all a girl could ask for!  They listen to me, reassure me, tell me things will work out, play the piano with me, learn with me, laugh with me, play games with me, and mostly just love me for who I am!

I also have wonderful brothers and an awesome brother-in-law.  They are great examples of worthy priesthood holders, husbands, and fathers...and I am never worried about whether I will be safe and taken care of properly when they are around!  I hope I can someday find a young man to marry who is just as great as they are...I would consider myself the luckiest girl in the world!  

I also have a mom and dad who are all I could ask for and more.  They are the first to give a comforting hug and say "I love you."  They can read my thoughts and emotions through my eyes and know when I am in need.  My dad is always willing and ready to exercise his priesthood, and I know my mom's prayers are heard and answered through her faith and testimony.  My parents are the best examples I could look to!

And I am blessed with the cutest, sweetest, most adorable nieces and nephews on this planet!  They are so much fun, and I cherish this time I have in my life to develop relationships with them!